Appliances frequently include doors for closing, insulating, concealing, or otherwise providing selective access to cavities or chambers of the appliance. These doors typically include an inner door and an outer door that are separated by an air gap which may be filled with fiberglass or insulating foam, e.g., for thermal insulation, sound dampening, etc. In order to permit a user to open and close the appliance door, appliances further include a handle assembly mounted to an outer surface of the appliance door.
However, conventional handle assemblies for appliance doors are injection molded from a single piece of plastic. Specifically, the handle frame and the pocket handle are injection molded as a single piece. Notably, manufacturing limitations related to injection molding may result in reduced thickness and stiffness of the pocket handle in such constructions, which can allow the handle to deflect when the customer opens the door. In addition, to cover a hole in the handle frame formed during manufacturing, these handle assemblies typically include a rigid bracket or cover that is installed on the back of the pocket handle and connects to the grip. However this results in noticeable interface or a seam that is visible to a user. In addition, this interface may be felt by a user when their fingers touched the back surface of the pocket handle.
Accordingly, a door assembly including an improved handle assembly would be desirable. More specifically, a handle assembly for an appliance door that provides improved rigidity, customer feel, and appearance would be particularly beneficial.